ANZ and Toitū join forces to help SMEs track carbon

ANZ Bank New Zealand and Toitū Envirocare have teamed up to offer an easy solution for small New Zealand businesses to measure the carbon footprint of their business operations.

Tracking, measuring and mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is common practice for most large companies in New Zealand but many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) haven’t taken the step because of the perceived additional cost to measure carbon or other pressing needs taking priority – particularly over the past 18 months.

SMEs are the backbone of New Zealand business, accounting for 97% of all businesses and employing around 29% of our workforce. They contribute over a quarter of New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP) and by association an equivalent amount of its GHG emissions.

To encourage more businesses to be aware of their carbon emissions, ANZ NZ is promoting Toitu’s Carbon Assess tool to its Business customers.

Carbon Assess is an entry-level, cost-effective digital tool that enables firms to track their emissions and reduction progress over time. ANZ NZ SME customers will be able to use the online tool with a 25% discount on the monthly subscription fee.

One such Carbon Assess user is Hibiscus Coast nut butter producer Forty Thieves, an ANZ NZ customer, who are on a mission to make healthy and delicious food that has a minimal impact on the environment.

Shyr Godfrey, Forty Thieves co-owner and Marketing Director, says all businesses have a role to play in tackling climate change “to ensure our fellow humans, animals and the environment can continue to thrive for years to come.

“Alongside plastic-free packaging, offsetting our carbon emissions is something that has been important to us for a long time. Toitū Carbon Assess is an affordable and easy-to-use tool, that's backed by science and has proven methods for measuring carbon. It's helped us make decisions on contributing to forest restoration projects around New Zealand which we are proud to be a part of.

“By sharing our journey, we're giving confidence to other small business owners who may be hesitant to get started, that collectively we can make an impact. We're sending a positive message to our customers that by supporting businesses like Forty Thieves, they too are making a difference,” she says.

Lorraine Mapu, ANZ NZ Managing Director of Business, says, “We are delighted to partner with Toitū in supporting SMEs who want to improve their sustainability performance.

More and more customers are demanding goods from companies that are doing the right thing by the environment and throughout their supply chain, and are increasingly willing to seek out those that are.

“Businesses that show environmental foresight greatly improve their long-term business prospects.”

Toitū Envirocare Chief Executive Becky Lloyd says government policy to transition New Zealand to carbon-neutral status by 2050 will, over time, increasingly affect all walks-of-life, including small and medium privately-owned businesses.

“Toitū Carbon Assess enables business-owners to meet the evolving sustainability expectations of the consumer market, and validate their carbon reduction efforts,” she says.

Carbon Assess comprises of simple online forms which estimates a company’s carbon footprint from fuel and electricity use, waste generation and management, and travel and freight records. It provides a customised report with a visual representation of the carbon footprint and a benchmark against previous years’ results and other Toitū carbon assess customers. Carbon Assess is available on a monthly subscription.

For more information, please contact:

Ashish Kundalkar, Marketing & Communications Executive
+64 9 574 4234 | ashish.kundalkar@toitu.co.nz